WAGONER COUNTY, Okla. − A 15-year-old girl was killed after the Wagoner County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) said another teenager shot her.
On Tuesday, family, friends and loved ones remembered the girl, who family identified to FOX23 as Maria Ibanez, at a candlelight vigil.
“I love her so much, just tell her that one more time,” one girl at the vigil said.
Few words were spoken as most people stood and reflected outside the memorial at the home where she was killed.
“I know that this is what she would want and I know that she would…” another girl at the vigil said.
“Enjoy all the support,” the first girl said.
Around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, WCSO said they responded to a home in Broken Arrow. They said the suspect, a 15-year-old boy, crawled into the home through the Ibanez’s bedroom window.
Eventually, the gun was discharged, shooting Ibanez in the head, WCSO said.
Investigators said authorities found the suspect, who led them to the victim’s home.
“They spoke with this individual on the phone, individual told them that he had just shot a young lady in a house,” Wagoner County Sheriff Chris Elliott said.
The Ibanez’s family members told authorities they didn’t know she was upstairs and had been shot.
“They had no idea that somebody had been shot inside their house and so they went in and checked on the wellbeing and what they had found was that the 15-year-old suspect had entered a bedroom window of the victim, went inside, and then something happened in there, we don’t know, but she ended up being shot,” Elliot said.
Ibanez was taken to a nearby hospital where she was later pronounced dead around 11:59 a.m., investigators said.
Investigators are not clear about the relationship between the two teenagers.
According to classmates, both teens were sophomores at Broken Arrow High School.
The 15-year-old boy is currently in custody.
As investigators continue looking into why this happened. Family and friends are doing their best to remember the life she lived.
“Maria was beautiful and she was just a bright light and she touched anyone that she was around, she filled positivity,” the second girl said.
